What is it about?
Many babies, children and young people who receive nutrition through gastrostomy or other surgically placed feeding tubes develop overgranulation around the stoma site. This can cause pain, bleeding, leakage of stomach contents and distress for children and their families. This article reports a rapid review of the evidence on preventing and treating overgranulation and describes the development of an evidence-based treatment pathway to support consistent clinical decision-making. The review identified five treatment approaches: doing nothing, natural therapies such as salt treatment, non-steroidal treatments, corticosteroids, and surgical or cautery removal. The resulting pathway is designed to support nurses and families in selecting appropriate treatments based on individual needs and circumstances.
Featured Image
Photo by Ed Cijs on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Children with enteral feeding tubes are increasingly cared for in homes and community settings, where nurses and families play a key role in managing complications. Despite overgranulation being common, approaches to treatment vary considerably between services and clinicians. This variation can lead to uncertainty for families and inconsistencies in care. By reviewing the available evidence and bringing it together into a practical treatment pathway, this work supports safer, more consistent and evidence-based management while promoting family-centred decision-making.
Perspectives
This article bridges the gap between research evidence and day-to-day clinical practice. While no single treatment was found to be superior, the review highlights the importance of preventing overgranulation where possible, identifying and addressing underlying causes, and taking a stepped, proportionate approach to treatment. The treatment pathway encourages nurses to combine clinical judgement with the preferences of children and families, recognising that effective care is rarely one-size-fits-all. By supporting shared decision-making and greater consistency across services, the pathway aims to improve experiences and outcomes for children living with enteral feeding tubes.
Prof Michael J Tatterton
University of Bradford
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Overgranulation of stoma sites in children with an enteral feeding tube: an evidence-based treatment pathway, Nursing Children and Young People, July 2025, RCNi,
DOI: 10.7748/ncyp.2025.e1557.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
